Dancing Leaf, The Twisting Shadow
by Suna.Tenma
Summary: It's valentine's Day, and Lee is trying to win Sakura's attention. Sakura isn't very interested, but someone else might be. LeeSaku plus another pairing you'll have to discover for yourself. A Valentine's Day oneshot


DISCLAIMER: 

Naruto is copyrighted to the creator, Masashi Kimimoto. This story is purely fan-made and is in no way associated with the anime company or the artist who created it.

I'm so sorry that it's late, but it isn't my fault! was running slowly on my computer and I couldnt upload my story!

Anyways, here it is, finally, my Valentine's Day fanfic.

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The buzzing began softly, but soon it echoed loudly in his ears, and the youthful Konoha genin was forced to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was the time, written in bright neon-green lights, flashing on and off. _5:01 am_. As if struck by lightning, his eyes suddenly widened, and he reached over to press the button labeled "date/time". The blinding lights disappeared for an instant, only to return brighter than ever. They read; "02:14."

"It's Valentine's Day!" The young ninja screamed, jumping from his bed and dashing to his closet. With stunning speed, he exchanged his navy blue PJs for his deep green jumpsuit. No one knew this, but Lee's favorite color was actually blue. Everyone only thought it was green because of his wardrobe. But he only wore green because his idol, Gai-Sensai did, and Lee never passed up an opportunity to support the world's greatest jonin.

He was in the bathroom in an instant, and the shower was running almost before he got there. Lee hated going slow, and the shower took sooo long to heat up. But waiting for heat was better than not waiting and being stuck with cold. So while the water warmed up, Lee practiced his lines to the mirror.

"Hello Sakura. Happy Valentine's Day. I was wondering…" He sighed. If he couldn't find the right words when he was alone, how was he ever going to find the right words in front of Sakura? He hung his head in disappointment. _This is not going to be easy. _Feeling hopeless, he turned to the shower spigot and placed his hand under the running water. It was luke-warm. He shrugged. Close enough.

He hopped into the shower, letting the cool water run over his muscular form. Grabbing his shampoo, he began scrubbing his scalp thoroughly. He even took time to "lather, rinse, repeat."

After a particularly long shower, Lee stepped out, steam rolling off his body. He took special care today as he ran gel through his hair, making sure to tame any wild or rebellious hairs that dared to climb out of place.

It took him twice as long as normal to get ready today, but it was worth it. Because today was the day that Sakura Haruno would finally be his! With confidence restored and adrenaline flowing, Lee raced to his room and to his closet. From there he pulled out the largest teddy bear available in the entire Land of Fire. It was 9 feet tall and 4 feet wide, but Lee had no trouble carrying it. It was the "getting it out the door" part that he had trouble with. But, through the magic of fictional writing, he was able to make it out the front door, teddy bear still intact.

Despite the fact that almost every girl in Konoha was already drooling over the gigantic teddy bear, Lee still felt that it was not enough. It didn't feel personal. But as he was walking through the park, inspiration struck. Trotting over to the nearest cherry tree, he plucked a single blossom, leaving a tiny stem on the end so that it fight perfectly tucked behind the bear's ear. Now it was perfect.

It took the leaf genin almost an hour to find the pink-haired kunoichi, and when he finally did, he almost turned around.

She was with Sasuke.

Of course, Lee had expected this, but even so, it hurt to have his fears confirmed. Watching his love hang all over that Uchiha was painful for him to watch. Of course he could never hate Sasuke, (it wasn't his fault Sakura was attracted to him) but that didn't mean that Lee wanted to jump up and be his best friend.

He was still contemplating whether or not to turn around, when Sakura looked up and happened to notice the giant nine foot bear.

"Oh my God that thing is huge!" She screamed, momentarily forgetting about Sasuke. She rushed over to it, to get a better look, when she noticed the pair of orange legwarmers from underneath the bear. She immediately knew who it was.

"Um, Happy Valentine's Day Sakura-chan." Lee mumbled through the four feet of stuffing that separated them. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Lee, this is for me?!?" She asked, her tone disbelieving.

"Do you like it, Sakura-chan?"

The strawberry blonde blinked. "Like it, Lee, it's adorable." She squealed, wrapping her arms around the bear. How badly Lee wished it were _he_ she was wrapping her arms around.

"I'm glad you like it Sakura-chan." Lee replied, his voice uneasy. Sensing the awkward tenor of Lee's voice, she released the bear and stepped back, giving him space. Lee dropped the bear and stepped around it, looking her straight in the eye.

"Sakura," he began nervously, pausing to take a breath. "Will you be my valentine?"

Sakura smiled, pity in her eyes. "Lee, I like you as a friend, and nothing more. This bear is lovely, but if it's a symbol of your love, than I can't accept it. I know you're a great guy, and I wish I could make myself love you but I can't." She gave the green-clad ninja a sad smile, and turned to head back to her crush.

Lee clenched his fists, anger building up inside of him. He normally kept his cool, but the one thing he could not stand… was being lied to. Sakura was constantly telling him that she couldn't date him because she liked him as, "just a friend." While that may be true, Lee knew that there was more to the story than just that.

"It's Sasuke, isn't it?" He whispered, head hung so that she wouldn't see the fury in his eyes.

"What Lee?" Sakura asked, turning abruptly. She had never heard Lee speak like this before; he always sounded so sophisticated.

"It's that damn Uchiha, isn't it!?! That's why you won't date me!" He screamed, lifting his head and sending her a glare that sent shivers down her spine. His voice was like a raging fire that burned everything in its path. He was breathing heavily, and he happened to notice Sasuke, standing about 20 feet away, and he was staring at them.

"What?" Lee screamed, tears of rage brimming over. "What are you staring at?!" Lee never really wanted an answer; he just wanted him to stop staring. Why wouldn't he stop staring? Lee was panting heavily now, and his vision was finally starting to come into focus. He saw Sakura, standing before him, crying. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and her hands were held tight to her chest.

She was trying to protect herself.

She had been scared. She had feared for her safety, and it was him that she had been afraid of. He had let his rage get so out of control, that he had caused the very one he loved, to fear him. Off in the distance, he saw Sasuke, and when Lee turned his focus on the Uchiha, he saw that his face looked, not terrified, but hurt. Sasuke Uchiha looked hurt. Normally a powerful and fearless ninja, the last Uchiha survivor now wore the look of a helpless, wounded animal. Realizing what his face portrayed, the brunette ninja turned his back to him and ran away, sprinting as fast as he possibly could.

Confused, and still full of shame, Lee spun around and headed home, in the opposite direction of Sasuke. Sakura was left standing alone, her cheeks still stained with tears. The sun was beginning to set, and nothing but the cold beady eyes of the bear remained.

Lee was at his favorite training grounds, kicking his favorite log. It was 2 in the morning, but he couldn't sleep. He still couldn't get over what he had done today, and he had promised himself that he would kick the log ten thousand times to make up for what he had done. But somehow, it didn't feel like anything could ever be punishment for the things he had done.

A rustling in the bushes behind him made him stop, as he turned to where the sound had come from. Silence. For a long time, nothing moved. Then, the bushes rustled again, and someone stepped out from the forest. It was Sasuke.

Surprised, Lee dropped his guard and took a more respectful posture.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Lee asked, suspicious.

"I, uh, came to tell you something." Sasuke began, not sounding like himself.

"Well, I must tell you something first." Lee cut in forcefully. But his tone lightened, and his eyes became apologetic. "I am sorry, for what happened today."

Sasuke didn't look surprised, but he smiled in return. "I forgive you. And I am sorry too."

Lee was confused. "For… what?" He asked, brow furrowed.

"For Sakura. If it were up to me, I would have nothing to do with her. But she won't leave me alone, and…"

"It is not your fault, Sasuke, and not your place to apologize. Let us consider each other, forgiven." Lee smiled warmly to the Uchiha, and was genuinely pleased that they were now on good terms.

"Actually, there was something else." Sasuke kept his gaze on his feet, and was unusually nervous.

"Yes Sasuke?" Lee asked, once again perplexed by the Uchiha.

"Um, Lee…" He began, his voice soft and anxious. "Will you be my valentine?"

Lee froze, unable to speak_. Did Sasuke just ask me to… be his valentine?_ Lee had never really considered homosexuality; he had always been too wrapped up in Sakura. But something about this Uchiha had always caught his eye, ever since he first saw him at the chunin exams, Sasuke had always seemed special. Now that Lee thought about it, a lot of things were starting to make sense. How Sasuke always copied his moves, or how he sometimes seemed to show up at places at the exact moment that Lee did. Even so, Lee wasn't sure if he wanted to date Sasuke. Did he really want to just give up on Sakura? After today, he wasn't so sure he would even be able to talk to Sakura, let alone hold the possibility of a future with her. He decided then and there that Sakura was an impossibility, but he was still confused. What to do about Sasuke? Even he couldn't deny that Sasuke was very cute when he was nervous like he was now. With his ears all red, and cheeks turning pink. Lee smiled. He always _did_ love making spontaneous decisions.

"Sure." He replied simply, his grin stretching from ear to ear. Sasuke looked up in amazement.

"Really?" He asked, as if he expected this all to be a dream.

"Really." Lee confirmed, and Sasuke grinned in return. Uncharacteristically, Sasuke jumped up and wrapped his arms around Lee, squealing in pleasure. Lee hugged him back happily, as Sasuke pulled him closer and whispered, "Happy Valentine's Day Lee."

A few feet away, just inside the forest, Sakura Haruno sat, wiping tears from her eyes. In her hand she held a note, and on the envelope, surrounded in dozens of tiny hearts, was one word. "Lee."

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I hope you liked it. Please review, so you can tell people why you liked it or why you hated it. Thanks a lot.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Suna.Tenma


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